1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for detecting, identifying and confirming the existence of objects buried or submerged beneath earth or water, and more particularly to a detection system comprising a plurality of autonomous flying units, a launch platform, a communications base station, and a PC-based mision planner, controller and GIS/GPS ordinance locator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Apparatus for detecting and identifying the existence of buried or submerged systems is well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,566 to Pomeroy discloses a process for locating buried plastic mines or nonmetallic objects which involves spraying a suspected area with a leach of ionized metal and leaching the ionized metal into the soil to leave a metallic concentrate on an impervious object, such as a plastic mine. An array of detectors detects anomalies of concentrations of the metal, the concentrations being the result of the leach settling on or about the impervious object. U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,639 to Aulenbacher et al. discloses ground-scanning sensors mounted on a light-weight, unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle which travels over areas contaminated with buried ammunition to automatically locate and map the area without endangering the searching crew. The controlled vehicle is controlled from, and the sensor signals are evaluated in, a second vehicle which is generally disposed in the immediate vicinity of the area being examined. And U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,967 to Strauss discloses a device for the detection of objects lying in the earth which, irrespective of topography, soil structure, and state of the terrain, permits high surface yields with great precision in identifying the position of the objects to be detected without endangering the operating personnel. In particular, the device comprises at least one jib mounted on a mobile device which is swivellable about a vertical axis on whose free end are arranged adjacent to one another several measuring heads for sweeping over strip-shaped surface areas of the terrain to be investigated. With the measuring heads on the free end of the jib, at least one ground marking device is arranged for distinguishing the find site determined by the measuring heads. The ground marking device includes a paint spraying device as well as a stake marking device next to each measuring head.
Problems associated with these prior systems include their inability to xe2x80x9choverxe2x80x9d at a predetermined height without being anchored or tethered. While submarines are capable of fixed depth operations, such vehicles use pumps or vertical thrusters to achieve buoyancy. Some known devices, which use gas filled flexible chambers to control buoyancy and therefore the depth of vehicle operation, are prohibitively expensive due to the supply of gas which must be carried in the vehicle for correction of depth errors over a sustained period of vehicle operation.
Against this background of known technology, the applicant has invented a novel system for detecting, identifying, and confirming the existence of buried objects, such as land mines, unexploded bombs, chemical gas canisters, etc.). More specifically, the invention comprises a colony of airborne aerial platforms launchable from a fixed or moving location, a launching device, a base station having communications equipment, a PC-based mission planner, controller and GIS/GPS ordinance locator.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel system for detecting, identifying, and confirming the existence of buried ground ordinance, capable of overcoming many of the disadvantages and drawbacks of similar systems known in the art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel system including a plurality of autonomous aerial platforms comprising a propulsion unit, a differential GPS sensor, a flight control system, a communication relay, collision avoidance sensors, and buried or submerged object detection sensors.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an ordinance detection apparatus which includes autonomous aerial devices and a base station for coordinating activities such as launching, refueling and docking of the aerial devices, and communicating with each and all of the aerial platforms.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system for detecting and identifying buried or submerged ordinance including a plurality of aerial platforms bearing ordinance detection apparatus, a base station for directing operations of the aerial platform, such as launch, refueling, and docking, and a command and control center for determining the time and location parameters of the search and identification missions and for coordinating communications between the aerial platforms, the base station and the command and control center.
Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent, as will equivalent structures which are intended to be covered herein, with the teaching of the principles of the invention in connection with the disclosure of the preferred embodiments thereof in the specification, claims and drawings in which: